Top 50 Breweries of 2014, by Sales Volume

The Brewers Association just released its list of of Top 50 Breweries of 2014, based on sales volume. The list comes in two flavors (both shown below in their entirety). The first list is for craft brewers only. To be clear, that is "craft" as defined by the Brewers Association. See footnote 1 for the definition. The second list shows all brewers (including non-craft).

While the list is always interesting, the changes from the previous year are most intriguing. Here's what I observed when comparing (the craft list) from last year:

Last year's list showed how each brewery changed in rank vs. the prior year. This Rank Change metric was omitted this year.

D.G. Yuengling and Son, Inc. sits atop the craft brewers list. How did they perform last year? They weren't even on the list! How did that happen? It has to do with changes in the definition of craft. If you want more details, read Jason Notte's explanation.

Boulder, CO •March 31, 2015—The Brewers Association (BA)—the
not-for-profit trade group representing small and independent craft brewers—today released its
annual lists of the top 50 craft and overall brewing companies in the U.S.,
based on beer sales volume. Of the top 50 overall brewing companies, 42 were
craft brewing companies¹.

“The companies on this list include the vanguard of the
craft industry,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “They
are exposing new beer lovers to craft, opening new markets and creating
opportunities for the entire category. As they continue to grow, so will the
availability of innovative and high-quality beers produced for all to enjoy.”

Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies

(Based on 2014 beer sales volume)

Rank

Brewing Company

City

State

1

D. G. Yuengling and Son, Inc

Pottsville

PA

2

Boston Beer Co

Boston

MA

3

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co

Chico

CA

4

New Belgium Brewing Co

Fort Collins

CO

5

Gambrinus

Shiner

TX

6

Lagunitas Brewing Co

Petaluma

CA

7

Bell's Brewery, Inc

Galesburg

MI

8

Deschutes Brewery

Bend

OR

9

Stone Brewing Co

Escondido

CA

10

Minhas Craft Brewery

Monroe

WI

11

Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn

NY

12

Duvel Moortgat USA

Kansas City & Cooperstown

MO/NY

13

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Milton

DE

14

Matt Brewing Co

Utica

NY

15

Harpoon Brewery

Boston

MA

16

Firestone Walker Brewing Co

Paso Robles

CA

17

Founders Brewing Co

Grand Rapids

MI

18

SweetWater Brewing Co

Atlanta

GA

19

New Glarus Brewing Co

New Glarus

WI

20

Alaskan Brewing Co

Juneau

AK

21

Abita Brewing Co

Abita Springs

LA

22

Anchor Brewing Co

San Francisco

CA

23

Great Lakes Brewing Co

Cleveland

OH

24

Oskar Blues Brewery

Longmont

CO

25

Shipyard Brewing Co

Portland

ME

26

Stevens Point Brewery Co

Stevens Point

WI

27

August Schell Brewing Co

New Ulm

MN

28

Summit Brewing Co

Saint Paul

MN

29

Victory Brewing Co

Downingtown

PA

30

Long Trail Brewing Co

Bridgewater Corners

VT

31

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits

San Diego

CA

32

Rogue Ales Brewery & Headquarters

Newport

OR

33

Full Sail Brewing Co

Hood River

OR

34

Odell Brewing Co

Fort Collins

CO

35

Southern Tier Brewing Co

Lakewood

NY

36

Ninkasi Brewing Co

Eugene

OR

37

Flying Dog Brewery

Frederick

MD

38

Uinta Brewing Co

Salt Lake City

UT

39

Bear Republic Brewing Co

Cloverdale

CA

40

Left Hand Brewing Company

Longmont

CO

41

21st Amendment Brewery Cafe

San Francisco

CA

42

Allagash Brewing Co

Portland

ME

43

Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe

Eureka

CA

44

Troegs Brewing Co

Hershey

PA

45

Karl Strauss Brewing Co

San Diego

CA

46

Saint Arnold Brewing Co

Houston

TX

47

Narragansett Brewing Co

Providence

RI

48

Green Flash Brewing Co

San Diego

CA

49

Craftworks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc

Chattanooga & Louisville

TN/CO

50

Breckenridge Brewery

Denver

CO

Top 50 Overall U.S. Brewing Companies2

(Based on 2014 beer sales volume)

Rank

Company

City

State

1

Anheuser-Busch, Inc (a)

St. Louis

MO

2

Miller Coors (b)

Chicago

IL

3

Pabst Brewing Co (c)

Los Angeles

CA

4

D. G. Yuengling and Son, Inc

Pottsville

PA

5

Boston Beer Co (d)

Boston

MA

6

North American Breweries (e)

Rochester

NY

7

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co

Chico

CA

8

New Belgium Brewing Co

Fort Collins

CO

9

Craft Brew Alliance (f)

Portland

OR

10

Gambrinus (g)

Shiner

TX

11

Lagunitas Brewing Co

Petaluma

CA

12

Bell's Brewery, Inc (h)

Galesburg

MI

13

Deschutes Brewery

Bend

OR

14

Stone Brewing Co

Escondido

CA

15

Sleeman Brewing Co (i)

LaCrosse

WI

16

Minhas Craft Brewery (j)

Monroe

WI

17

Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn

NY

18

Duvel Moortgat USA (k)

Kansas City & Cooperstown

MO/NY

19

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Milton

DE

20

Matt Brewing Co (l)

Utica

NY

21

Harpoon Brewery

Boston

MA

22

Firestone Walker Brewing Co

Paso Robles

CA

23

Founders Brewing Co

Grand Rapids

MI

24

SweetWater Brewing Co

Atlanta

GA

25

New Glarus Brewing Co

New Glarus

WI

26

Alaskan Brewing Co

Juneau

AK

27

Abita Brewing Co

Abita Springs

LA

28

Anchor Brewing Co

San Francisco

CA

29

Great Lakes Brewing Co

Cleveland

OH

30

Oskar Blues Brewery

Longmont

CO

31

Shipyard Brewing Co (m)

Portland

ME

32

Stevens Point Brewery Co (n)

Stevens Point

WI

33

August Schell Brewing Co (o)

New Ulm

MN

34

Summit Brewing Co

Saint Paul

MN

35

Victory Brewing Co

Downingtown

PA

36

Long Trail Brewing Co (p)

Bridgewater Corners

VT

37

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits

San Diego

CA

38

Rogue Ales Brewery & Headquarters

Newport

OR

39

Full Sail Brewing Co

Hood River

OR

40

Odell Brewing Co

Fort Collins

CO

41

Southern Tier Brewing Co

Lakewood

NY

42

Ninkasi Brewing Co

Eugene

OR

43

World Brews/Winery Exchange (q)

Novato

CA

44

Flying Dog Brewery

Frederick

MD

45

Pittsburgh Brewing Co (r)

Pittsburgh

PA

46

Uinta Brewing Co

Salt Lake City

UT

47

Bear Republic Brewing Co

Cloverdale

CA

48

Left Hand Brewing Company

Longmont

CO

49

21st Amendment Brewery Cafe

San Francisco

CA

50

Allagash Brewing Co

Portland

OR

The Association's full 2014 industry analysis, which shows
regional trends and sales by individual breweries, will be published in the
May/June issue of The New Brewer, available
in May 2015.

1 An American craft brewer is
small, independent and traditional. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer
or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is
attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft
brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an
alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer that has a majority of
its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from
traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored
malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers.

The Brewers Association is the not-for-profit trade
association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers
and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The Brewers Association (BA)
represents more than 70 percent of the brewing industry, and its members make
more than 99 percent of the beer brewed in the U.S.